Still alive
by MyNameIsBlinky
Summary: [HIATUS] Hey guys I was just thinking, "What if Matt and Mello survived?" Matt's death point onward, except they're...you know, alive. Lol I know, sucky summary but just read it. T for language, mainly. Slight MXM, but mostly friendship.
1. I got shot

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Death Note. However, the ideas are mine.**

 **OK, this story has been in my head for a couple of days now, and I've finally decided to get it down before it disappears forever. I first got the idea when I was reading up on how hot/cold humans can take before dying, and saw that there are people who survived a bullet to the brain. So this came up: What if Matt survived somehow?**

* * *

Matt's tires squealed as he made a sharp turn at top speed. Not his best choice, but he didn't have another one. He needed to get away ASAP, or risk death. His car spun out of control on the street as a result of the momentum, but he quickly got the car back in control, without even flinching. He turned, only to see more bodyguards. _Mello's gonna owe me big time,_ he thought. He saw that he was cornered by the bodyguards' black cars.

"How many bodyguards does one woman need, anyway?" he shouted, exiting the now immobile vehical. He raised his hands in surrender. "And since when were the Japanese allowed to have such big guns? Ah, you won't shoot me-" His goading/surrender was interrupted by gunshots, most not hitting him, but several making their mark. His hands fell, and he collapsed.

The last thing that he heard was a bodyguard yelling, "We wouldn't have let him live anyway. Crimes against Kira can only be punished by death."

* * *

 _Beep...beep...beep..._

The soft bleeps of the heart monitor barely registered in Matt's head. _That...was a whack dream...I really need to lay off the Call of Duty..._ _Damn alarm clock! Why is it making that goddamn noise?!_ He twitched his hand in an attempt to stop the noise, only to be met with overwhelming weakness. He registered the scent of his surroundings, as well as an unwelcome difficulty to breathe. _Man...what the hell is that smell?! Is that...antiseptic?! Holy...that wasn't a dream? What the...damn. Mello's gonna owe me_ big _time._ He opened his eyes, only to be met with a need to squint due to the blinding light of the hospital room.

"Who are you?! What were you doing?! I saw your eyes open! And your hand twitch! Come on! Answer my questions!" shouted the voice of a very young woman, barely 20, whom Matt presumed was a nurse or an intern as no one _that_ young could be a doctor. Matt inhaled sharply and raggedly, his chest ripping in agony at the slightest movement.

"Aghh..." he gasped weakly. His body tensed and started convulsing slightly in pain. "Hhhhkaaaaaaaaaaaahggh! Anti...hak! Kira...hahh...hahh...I...hhhhhaaaaahhhhkkkhh!" His voice was soft and ragged, like his breathing. The nurse/his interrogator noted his obvious inability to speak in coherent sentences and stopped asking her questions so harshly.

"Now now...calm down! If you can't speak, that's fine, but you'll have to answer my questions eventually. What the hell did you think you're doing, pulling a stunt like that?! Your friend and/or accomplice was nearly burned to death in that fire that killed Takada, and you got shot 15 times in various places, including your head! You can't _pull_ such blatant anti-Kira stunts anymore!" the nurse whisper-shouted, grasping his hand. Matt's breathing slowed, and his muscles relaxed. Now Matt had a million questions that he wanted to ask, but couldn't. _Friend and/or accomplice? Oh my God...Kira killed Takada? Mello? Oh my God! He...almost_ died?! _But...I thought that the conditions stated in the notebook wouldn't take effect if others whose names weren't written would be involved...unless...to the notebook, 'involved' is synonymous with 'death!' It's possible to survive a fire, right? If you get out quickly enough, you'll live! God...my head...it's on fire..._

"Before I forget: What's your name? You only have to say your first name so that we know what to call you." ordered a deeper, slightly older voice, most likely a doctor. "As soon as you are able, of course. Don't strain yourself. You were hurt pretty badly back there. Sections of your lungs were reduced to mincemeat, and your brain...let's just say that it was a miracle that you were able to wake up at all, let alone have enough presence of mind to respond, even in the way that you did."

"...M-Matt...call me...hahh...Matt..." Matt replied, several seconds later. _Good...they won't hurt me...Mello's OK..._

It was on that note that Matt lost consciousness.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys. I know that it's been a dog's age since I last updated my current story [Limit], but I have to write this down and publish it. Why? Cuz I wanted to, mainly. Also, I've been so flooded by work by the newly reinstated school year that I couldn't write anything down :'-(. I should have written something during the strike, but I was...out of ideas...like usual...maybe I'll ask my sister for creative help. But she'll call me a bastard...when I update Limit, you'll understand why. :-)**


	2. Aaaaand that sucks

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note...what if Tsugumi Ohba...** ** _is_** **L?! Takeshi Obata isn't, I know that...**

* * *

 _Beep...beep...beep..._

"Ugh...damn...my head..." Matt's voice came out raspy and weak, and his voice hurt from forcing it earlier. His hand slowly went to his head, weighted down by weakness, that, albeit not as extreme as before, was still present. He reached for a cigarette, before remembering that he didn't have any pockets. A remembered action. _So I still have remembered actions...that's good...what was I doing? Oh God..._

 _What..._ was _...I doing? Damn...now I'm forgetting simple shit...what's next, my name?_

Matt imagined a somewhat humorous circumstance in which he temporarily forgot his name, even though he never told anyone his real name.

 _Hey...what's your name?_

 _Durdurdur...uhh...I dunno..._

 _Heh heh...Oh yeah! I was doing the anti-Kira heist thing for Mello and the nurse lady called me stupid._

 _She's cute,_ commented the easily distracted and somewhat perverted part of his mind.

 _SHUT UP BRAIN! Nobody likes you! And besides...knowing_ my _luck with girls, she's taken. Or a lesbian. Or both._ retorted the other, slightly tsundere part of his mind.

 _And you know that there's someone else that you've fallen for anyway._

 _I...TOLD YOU TO SHUT! UP!_

"Hey. How are you doing?" asked the nurse. "I heard you can talk now. Your chest still hurting you?" For the first time, Matt got a good look at what the nurse really looked like. She had long, pink hair that curled at ends so that it looked like it was only shoulder length. Her eyes were brown, as was the norm in Japan. She basically looked like what you'd expect a nurse in an anime to look like. Matt blinked, to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"No...my head is...pounding...though..." Matt replied, softly. _Is this...withdrawal, or the gunshot wound? Or is it both? Do I have permission to_ kill _Kira?! No...that would make me just as bad...and a criminal..._ "Urg...how...how long has it been?" Matt asked.

The nurse sighed. "It's been 4 hours since you've last been awake. Not really surprising, considering your injuries but..." the nurse, whose name tag Matt now read as _Nurse A_ _mi Yoshino,_ paused for about a second before starting to lecture him. "By the way...I've got a little something that I pulled from your pants pocket!" Nurse Ami pulled out bag containing a blood-covered pack of cigarettes. Matt flushed. _Uh...oopsies...it's lecture time..._

"Uh..." Matt stammared, shocked that she brought up the fact that he's a chain smoker.

"Each of these things," Nurse Ami started. "Takes 11 minutes off of your life! Think about that! And withdrawal will be truly dreadful! Which, by the way, you're going to have to deal with (with help, obviously) because you're _not_ going to smoke!"

* * *

 _2 hours later_

 _Matt's dream (he'd dozed during the nurse's anti-smoking lecture)_

 _"Mommy! Mommy! It's hot! Can we get some ice cream?" exclaimed a 5 year old Mail Jeevas, jumping and tugging on his mother's sleeves, his brown eyes filled with excitement._

 _"Not now, Mail. We need to get the groceries, and then we can get some ice cream, OK?" his mother replied, exasperated, as her son had been asking for ice cream every 5 minutes._

 _"Oh...OK..." Mail replied, temporarily disappointed at the prospect of waiting 15 extra minutes until getting ice cream while his mother grabbed some milk and pretzels from the store. Mail and his mother entered the store, not knowing the events that would play out in the next 10 minutes that would forever change the live of one, and end the life of the other._

 _"Mail! You can't just run off in the store, OK?" his mother chided. "It's not safe, even if it wasn't disruptive. There are a lot of bad people out there who could hurt you!" His mother grabbed his arm, trying to keep him from running amok in a grocery store. He started running towards the candy aisle, completely disregarding his mother's words, and without his mother noticing._

 _"Look, Mommy! Candy! Can I have some?" he asked cheerfully, turning around to address his mother. However, his mother did not answer. "Mommy?" He started drifting out of the candy aisle the second that he realized that his mother was no longer holding onto his hand. "Mommy!" He quickly noticed that there was a large group of people all packed together near checkout lane 1. He also thought that he had heard his mother's voice. He drifted closer, slowly and quivering out of well-placed fear._

 _He crawled underneath the crowd primarily unnoticed, as he was much shorter than many of the people there, with his mother and a strange man dressed in black in sight until a man with a light Indian accent grabbed his arm to stop him from advancing any closer to the center._

 _"Stay back, little boy! Allow the adults to handle this or you will get hurt!" scolded the man. The man obviously didn't understand his need to know where his mother was._

 _"But...I heard my Mommy! I need my Mommy!" Mail whined, trying to tug through the crowd. A loud bang! sound resonated through the area, and people screamed and started running. "Mommy?" Mail moved forward slowly, then rushing to hide behind the checkout counter. He peeked from behind the counter to see the checkout staff slumped over the counter in a red puddle, his mother in shock._

 _"Mail?!" his mother exclaimed upon seeing her child so close to a violent scene. "Mail, get away from here! Run away as fast as you can and don't look back!" Mail stayed where he was, too afraid to move. "Mail! Run! Didn't you hear me?_ Run _!"_

 _The strange man looked over at Mail. "Who's the kid? Well, you obviously care about him, so unless you let me be at the front of the line, the kid's going down!" The man aimed the strange black thing at Mail._

 _"Mail! Hide!" his mother shouted._ _Mail did as he was told and hid behind the checkout counter, looking above the stand in curiosity in such a way that he was obsured by the various items on the checkout counter._

 _The man had lost his threat against the woman that was in front of him in line, as Mail was out of sight. Not wanting to go and track down the kid, he took aim at Mail's mother and fired._

 _BANG!_

 _The scene that followed was so horrifying that no one who witnessed it would ever forget it. Mail saw his mother collapse, her head spraying blood and other tissues. He was frozen in fear. The man, after all, was very scary, and he had no idea what was happening._

 _"Freeze!" shouted a police officer to the man. "Put your hands up!"_

 _Mail crouched down behind the checkout stand, shaking. He heard a scuffle, as well as 2 more of those loud bangs!. People wearing white clothes came out with stretchers. His mother and the checkout man were carried away, both with white sheets over their faces._

* * *

Matt woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. His sharp awakening caused him to start to sit suddenly, bringing back the sharp pain in his chest. His mouth tasted extremely bitter, and the room seemingly turned upside-down due to severe lightheadedness and a headache. He reclined slightly, propping himself up on his elbows.

 _Ugh...God! I'm remembering the things that I've been trying to forget for years, yet recent events are foggy as shit! Why?! Why me?!_

 _This better not be permanent, that's all I've gotta say. Otherwise...that would suck._

Matt took the fact that the lights were off as a chance to observe his surroundings. Of course, it was...a hospital room. It wasn't crummy, of course. It had a T.V., it had a window, it had a couch for visitorsー( _Ha ha...as if anyone's visiting me! No one cares enough!_ )ーand it had...it had flowers!

He also took this time to look at himself. _Damn...I am a mess..._ and he was. Loosely covered by a Japanese hospital gown, his chest and torso were covered in bandages, and most likely had a mess of stitches underneath. He raised his hand to his head. More bandages. _Well, I know what I'm dressing up as for Halloween._ He smiled at the thought of him scaring people dressed as either a mummy or as Frankenstein's monster, then cringed at the pain of moving his mouth and cheeks. _Now it hurts to smile! What else is gonna hurt?_

Matt allowed his full body to recline, and decided that maybe, just maybe, it was safe to go back to sleep after that particularly...vivid, to say the least...nightmare.

 _I'll just go to sleep...it'll help with the headaches, anyway..._

* * *

 **WOOO GOT SOMETHING DONE TODAY!**

 **ALSO...I FINALLY UNDERSTAND SYSTEMS OF EQUATIONS! YAAAAAAAAAY!**


	3. No! Mello!

**Hey guys! I, as you can see, have changed my username from the ridiculously long one that enabled Mello to call me Minion.**

 **Mello: :'-(**

 **Anyway, here's the story.**

 **BTW, due to the economy, I cannot keep them in a cellar like candyisyummy83 does, so they have to pay for their own food and living expenses! Yay**

 **For Carottal, as this background information would be unavailable in normal story development: I would think that a hospital would be (not openly, duh) anti-Kira because the basic principles of being a doctor is: First, do no harm. And Kira's whole thing is...harming people. So that's why they're still alive in the first place...they're still kinda criminals, but the hospital employees are doctors. And about the nurse...her whole character was based off of my own mother because nurse-chan's experienced stuff that no one should never experience, ever, and to her, Matt and Mello are just like childish delinquents.**

 **She also, however, is 20, so she accidentally gave a little info that she shouldn't have...and Matt's pain-brain was doing weird shit. (A pain-brain is how you think like when you're in excruciating pain. Not very well.) Your review brought to my attention a few obvious plot holes that I had originally missed and that will be closed this chapter (like, when does this take place?). I commend you. Also, I loved this review because it actually told me something that will help me improve in later writing. Thank you~!**

* * *

 _That morning, 5:58 am_

Matt opened his eyes to, to his surprise, a visitor hunched over on the couch, reading a magazine. This visitor had chin length, blond hair and was munching on a bar of chocolate. The person was wearing a vest, leather pants and a motorcycle jacket, and the only thing that barred Matt from knowing who they were right away were the bandages on the left side of their face and their left arm. The bandages also wrapped around the person's neck, barring him from knowing if the person had an Adam's Apple or not. In fact, the only reason that Matt could be certain that this was a man was through the man's soft humming. He flipped a page in the magazine and didn't seem to notice that Matt was staring at him for several minutes.

 _Hey...who is that?_

 _Dumbass! It's Mello! Does anyone else both wear stuff like that and eat chocolate? Hey...how'd he get that in here, anyway? Outside food isn't usually allowed in a hospital...must have snuck it in. Somehow. Anyway! Talk to him!_

 _And tell him your feelings?_

 _What? T-I don't feel anything for him!_

 _Suuure. Believe what you like._

Matt's inner monologue was interupted by the man finally realizing he was awake and had been staring at him. The man, obviously taken aback by this, jumped slightly at this realisation and looked back at him with wide eyes. Wide, bright blue eyes. Well, eye. The other one was obscured by the bandages.

"So...are you gonna keep staring, or are you gonna say 'Hi,' then?" Matt asked, slightly sarcastically and smiling slightly. The man, now identified as Mello, smiled.

"Matt! You-you're alive! I...can't believe it...I..." Mello moved over to the side of the hospital bed and grabbed Matt's hand, smiling. "I'm so sorry that this happened, Matt! I didn't mean for you to get so badly hurt! You're my best friend!" Mello tugged at his hand, much to Matt's discomfort.

"...Ow...I thought you were dead, to be honest...heh. Looks like both of our luck's better than we'd thought." Matt replied, recoiling slightly at the discomfort. _Look's like_ someone _got clingy over however long I've been out...well, it_ was _his plan..._ "And jeez! Stop apologising! It's not like you knew that this would happen! You're starting to sound like one of those those reality TV shows that we like to make fun of!" This made Mello smile.

"So...you're still you, then? Ah, doesn't matter. You're alive. That's what matters to me. Heh." Mello said, with a light, but at the same time, cheerless and somewhat forced laugh in his voice.

 _Aaaand Mello's got some strange form of survivor's guilt. It's not like he's...I dunno...omniscient or anything._

 _Maaaaatt...when are you gonna confeeeeeess?_

 _Confess what?_

 _Your feelings for him, of course!_

 _Can't confess feelings you don't have, brain!_

 _Suuuure._

"...Matt...are you listening?" asked Mello, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh! Uh...sorry...anyway...what did you say again?" Matt asked, resting his head on the pillow and staring at the ceiling.

"Eh." Mello replied, shrugging. He looked down. "It wasn't that important, anyway. It was really just apology. Also, the nurse told me to tell you to stop smoking so heavily." Matt smiled weakly.

"Oh...well...how's it been with you? And...d-don't say you're OK...you look like a mummy with the amount of bandages you've got on you." Matt said, looking at Mello suspiciously.

"...uh...they were just second-degree burns. Nothing too horrible." Mello replied, sheepishly.

"And...based on what the nurse said, we're kinda...criminals..." Matt started. "Are you supposed to be he-" Matt was interrupted by several shouts, thumping sounts and a very disheveled doctor entering the room, followed by 2 NPA(?) officers. The officers grabbed Mello by his arms and pulled him sharply away from the bed.

"LET ME GO!" Mello screamed, kicking and screaming. "I'M NOT ALLOWED TO SEE MY BEST FRIEND?! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF JUSTICE IS THIS?!" The doctor's eyes flashed with a hint of remorse, before he and the NPA officers 'escorted' Mello from the room, in handcuffs and still struggling.

"...sorry...that I couldn't help you...Mello..." Matt muttered, falling unconscious.

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

Near was lay on his bed, curled up in fetal position and clutching a robot. He had been so upset the past 2 days after learning of Mello's "death" that he hadn't slept. Of course, he didn't show it, and no one knew about his despair but him.

 _This is bad...if Kira knows how upset I really am...he'll most certainly use that against me. It's to my advantage that he doesn't know the true extent of my emotional ability...he believes that I'm a psychopath, just like him. Mello...I'm so sorry...Matt...I can't believe that you've been hurt._

 _Thinking like this is no good. I should think about how to plan this...what have I been doing these past 2 days...did his death hurt me that much? But..._

Near opened his extremely dilated, grey eyes and stared at his robot, trying to get his mind off of Mello and what he believed had happened to him. Thinking that Mello was dead was common and intended, as his still being alive was covered up by both the hospital and the NPA (also known as Shuichi Aizawa), for different purposes. The coverup was done so well that even the press thought him to have been burned to a crisp.

 _But...how did Mello die? The notebook that Gevanni took from Mikami...didn't have any names that we couldn't link to a different person's death...so how...did he get killed? Takada's name was written in it, but...Mello's wasn't._

 _Unless Mello was supposed to die at that moment...I need to use all of my time to think about the Kira case...I need to get my mind off of Mello..._

Near closed his eyes again, curled up into a tighter ball than thought possible by normal human limitations, and fell into a troubled sleep.

* * *

 **Thank you all for the reviews! I especially appreciate concrit because it is actually helpful, and helps point out...the dreaded plot holes...and other unseen errors.**

 **Note: Thank you for Carlottal for pointing out some story-breaking errors! I might need a beta reader myself.**


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